[Jayvines]

 

Originally Posted by Wingnettle

Sootfur (he/him)
Light grey tabby with blue/grey eyes



»»————-　☀︎︎　————-««

Sootfur dipped his head briefly and hurried inside the den, feeling a bit sorry for bothering the leader just right now. She must be tired, but this is very important.
"Sparrowstar, I... at the Gathering, tonight, I met a Shadowclan cat. She was close to give birth to her kits, and her eyes were hollow and terrified." Oh, Stars... if she doesn't allow it, I don't know what else she could do.

"We were talking about the routines in our clans, but she mentioned horrors that only Shadowclan could ever create. I..." This was the hardest part. He knew his leader would get angry at him, but he'd had no other choice. He gulped down and continued with more effort. "She seemed hopeless. I told her about the life in Thunderclan, and asked her to reach the Thunderclan border secretly in two days, so that I could bring her to you and ask for a safe home."

He bowed his head, aware that he'd taken an important decision alone and without his leader's consent. But... what if it was the only right thing to do? What other choice did I have?
She was so kind and gentle, and when she'd mentioned all of that and her eyes had darkened... I saw Flameheart in those eyes. I saw a broken warrior, but first of all a scared mother. What if Flameheart had been in her place?

This single thought was unbearable.

[ @Jayvines @SpiritedWarrior (so you can read) ]

Pausing in her grooming as she processed the words of Sootfur's story, Sparrowstar glanced up to him with an unamused look.

"You invited a Shadowclan queen to take refuge in Thunderclan," she reiterated, mentally running through the potential issues this could cause. "If she is planning to stay in Thunderclan, I suppose we could accept her. New kits are always a welcome addition to our ranks... However, this needs to be done without Dawnstar's knowledge. We cannot afford retributive actions if she were to find out, especially after your choices to speak out at tonights gathering..."

Stars, that was a mess that could have been avoided...

"I will speak to her; find out what it is she truly wants from Thunderclan's safety. However, if I find her reasonings lacking and send her away I expect you to accept that decision. No further outbursts like tonight."

 

Originally Posted by SpiritedWarrior

Flameheart

@Jayvines

Flameheart did a short, quick dip of her head in acknowledgement to the thanks Sparrowstar had offered. Her gaze returned to meet the tan and brown leader's eyes as she began to speak once again to address something that hasn't been made official in the eyes of the Clan yet.

"I also wanted to report... Sootfur and I are not just friends. We're more than that, actually. We're mates. Shortly after we became warriors, we both agreed that we were ready to be more than friends. I thought you should know for future reference. I know he's showed more than the usual amount of concern when I returned to camp after being attacked by that RiverClanner."

Rainpaw

@/Jayvines

The stern, commanding voice was not at all what he had expected from Sparrowstar after finishing his rant. He fought to keep himself from interrupting the she-cat while she spoke and let him know her thoughts about the situation. Ambition and straightforwardness are the reasons that piece of fox-dung was chosen? Really...? And I thought Sparrowstar was better than that.

"You and I have different views on my father. The ambition he has will end up destroying the Clan as we know it if he can't keep a connection with the cats he helped raise and hunt with. He's hunted with my mother, he visited me and my littermates frequently when we were all around... when Quietpaw ran away, that connection ended. He distanced himself from us. And while you say it's... 'natural' for toms to not be an active part in their kits' lives, I don't think it is. That's your opinion, and I respect it. Really, I do. But what I don't respect about what you said is that we can't keep sending parties out to search for lost Clanmates because it'll dwindle our numbers too often. Well- guess what? It's better to try and show StarClan we care about each other by sending patrols of twos or threes and sending them out every so often. I'm not saying we need to send patrols out every sunrise. I mean- come on, kits and apprentices aren't the only ones going missing. Warriors do too! And I'm not saying we shouldn't be making our own choices. If we didn't, we'd all be growing up as kittypets instead of out in the forest, under the stars and feeling the wind and taste of our prey's blood."

And he couldn't help but notice Sparrowstar's failure to answer his question, so he decided to repeat it. "Answer this question honestly, Sparrowstar: you trust Thrushfur to look out for the entirety of ThunderClan's future due to the qualities he possesses. But if he doesn't even care about his own kin enough to go out looking for them himself, how do you expect him to care for everyone else? The future of the Clan is in your paws, Sparrowstar. And I see the end of ThunderClan with his reign."

Flameheart:

A glimmer of amusement flickered across her face as Flameheart spoke again.

"I suspected as much," she stated, giving the younger molly a nod. "As long as you both keep up with your duties, that is no cause for concern. Although, do let me know if you need to ever join the queens for any amount of time."

Chuckling slightly, Sparrowstar flicked her ears slightly in dismissal before beginning to groom her paws. Taking on a mate of her own was something she hadn't committed much thought to, but it would certainly be nice to have someone at your back when things got rough...

Rainpaw:

Stars above, this young tom needed to sort out the situation between him and his family... Obviously this issue was distracting him from his training, but she could not allow this outburst to shake her clan's foundation of leadership and it seemed that her words hadn't fully sunk in.

"I have made my decision clear Rainpaw," she stated, voice shifting back to stern as she responded to his oddly intense response. "I trust Thrushfur to take on my responsibilities if I were to be divested of my duties through death or otherwise, and I will not allow Thunderclan's warriors to be distracted from the duties they swore to uphold by stretching our numbers across the forest to try and find lost cats."

Huffing out a breath of frustration, the tan molly peered down at the young apprentice before continuing.

"You have much to learn in your apprenticeship Rainpaw. Thunderclan must grow to be your first priority as a warrior; not family, not friends, not even mates. Our clan is only as strong as the warriors that inhabit it, and distractions lead to weakening that strength. Do not confuse what you feel is best for you with what is best for the clan."

 

Originally Posted by littlelove

"And how is that? How are they l-looking out for us? What do we owe to them for doing nothing except ref-refusing to see that they had a part in all of this too?!" She hissed, pelt beginning to bristle - though despite the fight in her words, she stayed locked to her spot. She held no anger for the leader, but rather for the stars that put her in this position. Cinderpaw was prepared to continue the argument, until...

The apprentice could feel herself clam up at the mention of Cindersky reached her ears. "How dare you...!" Okay, NOW there was a little anger. She should have imagine this would be brought up. She shifted uncomfortably in her spot, avoiding the leader's eye contact all of a sudden. She wasn't supposed to be angry, she was supposed to be grateful, because everyone else saw this as an inexplicable gift. It was another chance at life, they would tell her, what else was it other than a gift?

Cinderpaw didn't know what. "... Y'think I a-asked for this? Do you think it feels good standing here kn-knowing that no matter what I do it will never be e-enough to stop the stars practically reaching down and stealing our kittens from the the nursery?" The apprentice rasped, focusing on the much more interesting scenery past the den's exit. "Of course I feel indebted. Of course I do-don't wanna just dismiss her. She could have given this to a million other cats, she could have taken this herself, and now I'm here to be told she didn't. And I mean this, like, sincerely --"

She paused, staring down at her pale grey paws. The she-cat suddenly felt little, too little. Like she had been as she watched the former leader pad away and leave her to a life anew. "I'm sorry I'm not her."

Despite her suddenly gentle tone, the apprentice was still angry deep down. Part of Cinderpaw figured it was time she get back on track "Me b-being here-- it feels like a patch job. A punishment. For so, so ma-many reasons. I'm pissed at them, but not at her, and I have no reason why, Sparrowstar. An-and I still see no reason for them to judge us as worthy when they don't do a thing as we suffer. There's no be-benefits from following thecode, since Shadowclan doesn't seem to listen to a word of it and does just fine. I have never seen someone I care about die outside of our camp - aren't we supposed to be safe here? If be-believing in Starclan is what makes us a clan, then what the hell are the weasels still doing here?!"

All of a sudden, she found herself fired up again. "I'll watch my words. Won't even refer to her at the gatherings. B-b-but I want you to think on this, and prove me the hell wrong. When has believing in Starclan helped Thunderclan? Was it when they sent a million false prophets? Was it when they apointed Shadowclan's leader as a cat who ap-apparently can't even take a little squirrel callin' her the wrong name? What has it done for me?"

Quietly, the agouti apprentice turned away, and shrunk back towards the entrance. "I wish it was all easier. But praying to those who ignore us won't make it that way."

At that, she slipped out of the leader's den. Cinderpaw had fought far too many pointless battles to ignore another one that they were going to lose.

[ @Jayvines ]

Stars above, her and this apprentice were stuck in a painful stalemate...

Attempting to keep her tired face stony, Sparrowstar could not bring herself to look at the younger she-cat until she turned and padded out of her den. Could she prove her wrong? Was she capable of meeting Starclan's challenges and growing Thunderclan back into it's former glory amongst the forest?

Suddenly feeling as if she had aged about 30 moons, the tan molly let out a deflating breath before turning to slink her way into her nest at the back of the den as her tail dragged behind her.

Was this how all her clanmates saw the situation? Was it just Cinderpaw and the cats of her generation? The cats who had been dragged through the brambles since kithood?

Whatever the case, this conversation had certainly left the weight of the forest resting on Sparrowstar's shoulders...

 

Originally Posted by Sp00k3z

Acornkit sneaked in with sticky honey and pinecones and nettles. She walked up to Sparrowstars nest, looking for any watching cats.
@Jayvines

*The leader's den was empty, save for a lone nest near the back and a few trinkets carefully placed around*

 

Originally Posted by Willowfern

Roosterflame purred, his eyes closing for a moment,
“You’re doing excellent, though,” He pointed out, giving her a look with his yellow eyes, “ThunderClan hasn’t seen this much peace since… well…” He thought for a moment, mind blanking, “…since some time long before I came to ThunderClan, I suppose.”
His own purr rumbled in his chest when Sparrowstar mentioned him brightening her days,
“Well, it is certainly an honor to brighten them, O great leader,” He meowed, throwing the last part on jokingly, “I enjoy seeing other cats smile and laugh. It gives me a feeling of happiness you just can’t get by making yourself happy, y’know? To brighten your own days, you must first brighten the days of others, right?”
Roosterflame fiddled with his tail and pretended it was a mouse. He clawed through the tuft on the end as he thought,
“I’m sure I will, too,” He meowed thoughtfully, “Plenty of fun things a-happen in newleaf. I suppose that’s just StarClan saying sorry for the not-so-fun things that happen in the season prior, hm? Y’know, give a kit a moss ball after you take their favorite pebble kind of thing.”
@Jayvines

A short purr of appreciation rumbled in her chest as she finished grooming her shoulders.

"Peace is certainly something Thunderclan isn't used to, however I certainly think it's good for us to seek it out as often as we can. We deserve some stability, although I do hope that that stability does not grow into apathy..."

A huff of tiredness puffed from her jaws as her tone turned slightly wistful.

"Thunderclan needs to rejuvenate it's spark; we used to be respected warriors, but up until a few moons ago we had been seen as no better than partially organized kittypets... Don't get me wrong; I am fully aware that cats from outside our borders can make fantastic warriors (you and I are proof of that concept), but I do wish that we could repair our reputation with the other clans."

Rossterflame's little anecdote brought a half-smile to her face, and she glanced back up to the tom with the slightest hint of pain in her eyes.

"Starclan certainly seems to like those kinda things, don't they..." she hummed, quickly glancing back to the entrance of her den to observe the frosty exterior. "Trials that hopefully lead to something better on the other side... They can be fickle with how they deal with the living sometimes."

 

Originally Posted by Apollo.

. Violetslash .
( @Jayvines - Vi' has left @/poppykit's character outside the nursery for the time being, seeing as they haven't responded just yet )

By stars, It's been awhile since I've been in here. The blue/grey molly thought as she followed Sparrowstar's tan pelt into the den, and although still infriated about her clanmates and those Riverclan mutts, she couldn't help taking a moment to observe her surroundings. The den had changed a fair bit since she had been in it last, but she guessed that every leader had their preferences for where things should go, each Aspenstrike, Cindersky and Sparrowstar were certainly different in their arrangements. She huffed in annoyance, she had already gotten side tracked, she turned back to face Sparrowstar, her frustration swiftly returning as she returned to the problem at paw, "Let me make this quick," she flicked her tail, not bothering to even sit down, "Stormkit managed to leave camp undetected, I was able to track him to the Smallpines border just to find a pair of Riverclan fox-hearts kitnapping him." she paused for a moment, gauging her leaders reaction, before speaking once more, "I decided not to attack as that might put the kit's safety at risk, especially since his leg is twisted, and just as I was about to leave I spotted the loner kit sniffing around the kitnappers, so I guessed that it would be safer for it to be in the camp rather than by those mange-ridden code-brakers." her tone was oddly flat, but her irritation about the kitnapping was very audible.

The irritation that rolled off of Violetslash in waves was monumentally clear, and Sparrowstar wasn't entirely sure how worried she should be... until the molly started talking.

Immediately the rather thin Thunderclan leader's fur began to bristle at the tops of her shoulders as they quickly relayed the contemptable actions of the fish-breath's they shared a border with.

"Star's curse those foxhearts," she growled, whipping back around to exit the den and flicking her tail to indicate her clanmate should follow. "We are retrieving Stormkit immediately. Leave the other kit here, and I'll deal with them when we return."

Without another word she kicked her paws into high gear and flew out of camp towards the Riverclan border.

 

Originally Posted by Bonsai

—/— @Jayvines —/—

~^~ Duckfluff ~^~

The cream-colored tom made his way to the entrance of Sparrowstar’s den. He wasn’t quite sure how this would go! He had never just walked up to the leader directly. It felt strange. He shifted his weight from paw to paw. The memory of how his first class had ended still hung heavy in his mind. Seeing Cherrykit like broke his heart. He was sure it had been short lived, but even still. This had to be done. He was sure Glowkit’s parents would feel the same way. Some things just weren’t for kits ears, no matter how much you sugar-coated them. It was up to him to give the feedback required to make his class a good place for learning. It was his duty! That’s what he had agreed to when he had volunteered for this position. Cats were counting on him. Kits even! “Sparrowstar? Do you have a moment?” He meowed before entering. An uncharacteristically somber expression had fallen over his face like a cloud. For all his antics, this was important. It was business! And kits were involved. His kits were involved. So he kept his tone and posture professional. Even if it felt and looked a little unnatural. He didn’t know Sparrowstar well, and he didn’t want her to write him off. Not that she would, just it was better to be on the safer side.

Brown ears perked up as one of her warriors called into her den.

"Of course. What can I do for you Duckfluff?" she stated, turning to face the tom as he entered her abode. Paws-crossed everything was running smoothly, but one could never be too sure of that these days.

 

Originally Posted by moonlit.x

| Lambkit |
| He/Him |
| A curlied grey furred tabby tom with a white tail tip and paws; Yellow eyes |

~ The monster is awake! Lambkit's eyes widened once he heard the hum from the beast in the nest. Oh no, it was moving! The curly furred tom quickly moved out of the way of the paw- I mean claws of the monster. If the monster got him then mama would be sad.. he didnt know about his brothers though- Nevermind that!

"I'm not a mouse! or a stick!"

No use in staying quiet due to the monster already knowing he was there. ~

"Not a mouse OR a stick hmmm?"

Sparrowstar's rumbling response was given as she finally fully cracked open her eyes and peered over the side of the moss of her nest at the little intruder.

"What are you then little one? Perhaps a little woodpecker?"

A glimmer of amusement flickered across her eyes, but the tan molly kept her expression curious. Whatever was this young kit doing here?